


Heat

by TinCanTelephone



Series: From Tumblr, With <3 [1]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Caretaking, Cute, Established Relationship, F/M, Fever, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 13:38:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14812395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinCanTelephone/pseuds/TinCanTelephone
Summary: Cassian returns from a mission feeling less-than-okay. Jyn's not so sure what to do, but finds her instincts not so far off.





	Heat

**Author's Note:**

> For therebelcaptainnetwork's May prompt: Heat 
> 
> Originally posted on tumblr in two parts– now polished and posted here

Jyn liked to think she was pretty flexible in terms of sleeping arrangements. Too long spent on the run living off what she could steal or earn under the table had prepared her for a wide range of uncomfortable places to rest. 

That said, even she had her limits and right now it was  _too hot_. Jyn ran hot anyway– she never needed more than one blanket to cover her at night (two if they were thin). And she most certainly did  _not_  need to be pressed against a certain rebellion captain currently running a 39-degree fever. 

Feeling sweat pool under her arms and back, she finally (carefully) extracted herself from Cassian’s loose embrace and slid out from underneath the three blankets he liked to sleep with. Despite her best efforts, Cassian’s breathing hitched as the movement woke him and he whimpered as her hand slipped from his arm. 

_Kriff._ “Shh, shh.” She padded a few steps away for something with which to fan herself and tried to soothe him him back to sleep. 

Force knew how he picked up whatever was raging through his system– apparently he barely made it ten minutes into his last mission debrief before fainting in the command center. Jyn found him in the medbay, where she was assured it wasn’t poison and would probably burn itself out in a few days. The medics still overwhelmed with the injured from Hoth, he was turned over to her care– as if she would have any idea what to do.

Luckily or unluckily, her options were rather limited by the fact that Cassian seemed too weak to do much more than lie in their bed after she got him showered and changed. Although she had a hell of a time getting him to fall asleep, which is why it  _sucked_  that he was awake again because she overheated. 

“J’n.” His eyes were slits and his head rolled toward where she stood by the bed, once again at a loss as to how to take care of him. 

“What is it?” she said.  _Just tell me what you need_. 

“Don’ go.”

“I’m not. I’m right here.”

“Don’ feel good.” He shifted restlessly under the blankets.

“I know.” Jyn reached over and touched his burning cheek. “You’re too hot.” Her hand traveled down and she tried to pull away the outermost blanket. 

“No,” he whimpered again, louder. One hand snaked out to stop her. “’m cold.”

“You can’t possibly be cold,” Jyn said. She could see the sweat on his forehead, making his face shiny and hair stick to his temples in stringy clumps. 

He shifted again, tossing weakly about like he couldn’t get comfortable. “’M hot too,” he said. “Can’t decide.”

Jyn felt her forehead pinch and worry rise again in her chest. She looked around and found the blister pack of fever reducers the medics had given her. She squinted, trying to read the instructions the light of the hallway leaking under the door. A glance at the chrono told her he wasn’t due for another dose for an hour, but…

She looked back at Cassian– sweating and shivering under three blankets, looking absolutely exhausted but unable to sleep– and thought,  _Fuck it_. 

“Come on.” Quickly, like ripping off a bandage, she pulled down all three of the blankets and tugged on his shoulders, trying to help him sit up. 

He groaned and resisted, twisting away and reaching for the blankets again, but she was stronger eventually got him somewhat upright. 

“Here.” She pressed a pill to his lips with one hand and a canteen to his palm with the other. “This’ll help you feel better.” 

He obeyed clumsily but without a fight and she was able to give him two doses. For good measure, she made him finish the water in the canteen before allowing him to lie back down. 

He breathed a bit easier and seemed more relaxed, blinking slowly up at her. “Don’ go.”

“I’m still here.” She pulled the blankets back over him.

One arm reached weakly out to her. “Come back.”

_Oh_. It still boggled her mind sometimes, that another person would take such comfort in her simple  _presence_. It made her throat feel tight and her eyes hot that someone needed her in that way. 

She grasped his hand, squeezing it and running her thumb over his knuckles. “One second.” She moved away briefly to pull off the shirt she was wearing, then stepped out of her sleep shorts before crawling back under three blankets with her very cute, very sick, human-sized space heater. 

Cassian made a low sound of contentment and clung to her like a limpet. He didn’t seem to notice she was basically naked and fell asleep almost immediately, surrounding her again with feverish heat.

Still, Jyn tucked her head under his chin and began to relax. Some things were worth an uncomfortable night.

 

* * *

 

Cassian still wasn’t quite sure how it had happened. He spent his last day at the imperial academy on Mandalore feeling a little… off. Thinking a bit slower than usual, feeling a bit more tired than he should. But he told himself it would fade and concentrated on leaving with his cover intact. 

If Kay noticed anything as they took off it didn’t say anything, just silently took over the controls once they got into hyperspace and Cassian went to find something to eat. He was beginning to feel properly shaky, but he was hoping some food and water would fix it. 

It didn’t, and he when he stood up after landing in Home I he was suddenly so dizzy he had to grip the console to keep himself from falling over. He swallowed bile in the back of his throat and took a deep breath.  _It’ll pass. It’ll pass_. 

Leia met him in the hangar and walked with him to command, talking about… something. He couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. The corridors kept tilting in front of him and it was taking all of his effort to walk in a straight line. 

The lights on the bridge seemed much brighter than normal and Cassian squinted at the information on his datapad. It felt like it took twice as much effort to force words out at a volume that would reach the officers in the back and the letters kept sliding in and out of focus. He was still dizzy. He wished he could sit down. 

Draven asked him a question from somewhere that seemed very far away, but he couldn’t hear it. 

“I’m sorry?” He looked up at the generals, trying to breathe through the rushing in his ears, but black spots suddenly clouded his eyes and the room tilted sharply, sickeningly to the left. He felt himself swaying, trying to keep his balance, but then the black spots took over. He didn't remember hitting the floor.

His memory of events became a bit fuzzy at that point. He remembered the unpleasant chill of medbay sheets under his hands and water being held to his lips. Then Jyn was standing over him, helping him stand up walking him back to their room. 

There was a sonic, an awkward shuffle as she got him into a change of clothes, then  _Oh thank the Force_  he was lying down. She was talking to him the entire time, in a smooth, patient voice pitched slightly higher with worry. When he didn’t have to focus on standing, it was easier to hear what she was saying. 

“…comfortable? Stars, Cass, what were you thinking?”

“Didn’t… didn’t know what was wrong,” he muttered. 

“You’re really sick.” She shook her head and pulled the blankets over him. “Try and get some rest.”

He did try, but it was hard. The bed still felt like it was rocking under him and he couldn’t get warm no matter what he did. And however cold he felt inside, his skin felt hot and itchy and he kept tossing as if he could wriggle out of it. 

Jyn fussed in the background, giving him water and medicine, but he couldn’t get comfortable until she slipped into bed next to him. He clung to her– she steadied the rocking of the bed and her skin was softer than the sheets. He wanted to cry when she slipped away again, tearing him from the pleasant oblivion of sleep, but she came back and he felt everything fall away again and sleep was easy.

Two days later, when he’d recovered to the point of moving about their quarters for brief periods of time, she stayed close to him– almost never more than arms’ length away. He smiled as she hovered by his elbow when he shaved, then followed him back to the bed. He sat down and tried to work on his report and she sat next to him, so close their legs pressed together and he could feel her ribs move as she breathed. 

Not that he was complaining. He reached an arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. “I’m okay, you know.”

“I know.” Her hand came up to grasp his and she leaned closer. “I’m just making sure you feel better.”

His heart twisted pleasantly and he kissed her forehead. And he was pretty sure she already knew, but he told her anyway, “When you’re here, I always do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Original tumblr posts: [part 1](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/post/173760447280/rebelcaptain-drabble-heat), [part 2](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/post/173779062090/heat-part-2)
> 
>  
> 
> Say hi on my tumblr: [cats-and-metersticks](https://cats-and-metersticks.tumblr.com/)
> 
>  
> 
> Thanks for reading and for comments/kudos :)


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